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Android's Google+ app also got an update today that - while masquerading as a stability/bug-fix release - packed in at least one new treat - the ability to cast your stream to a Chromecast.

While casting, users can flip through posts with manual controls or just wait for the stream's auto-play. The interface shown through your Chromecast will look much like the one in the app, minus Android's system interface and playback controls.

So, you still don't have Koush's AllCast? If you happened to snag all those free Amazon Coins from a few weeks ago, you can officially get this incredibly useful casting app for exactly zero moneydollars. If you didn't jump on the free coins bandwagon, however, you'll have to suck it up and pay five moneys for the full version (via IAP). See, it pays to get free Amazon things from time to time, because then you can get more free Amazon things.

Very few things are as pleasing to a developer than deleting large blocks of code that aren't needed anymore. That's exactly what many developers of apps targeting the Chromecast are going to be doing this week after an update to the Google Cast SDK. The changelog (dated July 8th) is pretty long, but it mostly boils down to a few new classes that add built-in support for closed captioning (subtitles), improvements to the Media Player Library, and a few other bug fixes.

Just yesterday Google announced that it would soon allow users to send video and other entertainment items to a nearby Chromecast even when they're not connected to the same WiFi network, with the backend relying on location data for verification. It looks like there's some even more interesting technology going on behind the scenes. GigaOm reports that the upcoming update will allow Chromecast and Android devices to authenticate each other using ultrasonic waves.

Chromecast has apparently received support for Google Drive presentations, something that should drastically change just how useful the product is for offices and schools. This feature was previously visible to only a limited number of users while Google worked out the kinks, but now it looks like it may be ready for primetime. The option is visible to us, along with plenty of you as well.

To cast a presentation, hit the Present button in the top right corner.

Along with two new apps, today's Update Wednesday has brought us a new version of YouTube with version 5.6.31. The previous version was 5.5.27, so it became clear right away that we should expect something relatively significant as opposed to simple bug fixes. Unfortunately, I'm going to have to disappoint those of you still waiting for offline and screen-off playback - those are not here just yet. There are no major UI changes either.

Now that the Chromecast is truly coming into its own, Google can turn its attention to the little things. Specifically, the icon. The current cast icon design works fine for some apps, but not so well for others. The new guidelines are aimed at making the status of the icon easier to discern across a range of apps designs.

The old icon relied on a change in color to indicate connected/non-connected (see below).

We learned yesterday that the Chromecast would finally make its grand entrance to our friends in the UK on March 19. While the recently finalized Google Cast SDK should leave them with plenty of ways to start using it right away, there's one app that definitely needed to take the plunge and add support: BBC's iPlayer. Well, it looks like the BBC had the same thought, because a recent update gives us solid evidence that Chromecast streaming is coming very soon.

Google has been buffing up the capabilities of the Chromecast as of late by opening up app access with the SDK, and it looks like even first-party apps are getting in on the action. The latest release of the beta version of Chrome for Android adds in Chromecast capability for YouTube videos. Theoretically, it should work for any standard HTML5 video as well. Now you don't need a laptop to cast web videos to your television.